Omandokoro (1/2)Mother of Emperor Toyotomi Hideyoshi

The late Muromachi period was also called the Sengoku period, which was compared to the history of China. Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose through the ranks in the Oda family from a small shop to unifying the country. Hideyoshi rose from a lowly position in Owari Province to serve the Oda family. It was Omandokoro (Naka) that gave birth to Hideyoshi. Since Hideyoshi, Omandokoro's son, rose to prominence, Omandokoro's other children and younger sisters served and supported Hideyoshi. This time we will look at Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother, Omandokoro.

Omandokoro and Otora, Ichimatsu

Omandokoro is said to have been born in 1516 in Gokisho Village, Aichi District, Owari Province (present-day Showa Ward, Nagoya City), and his given name was Naka. One theory is that she was the daughter of Kanesada Seki, a blacksmith from Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture).

His younger sisters are Eishoin, Daionin, and Shounin, and his cousin is Seirinin (also known as Ito). In later years, Omandokoro's son Toyotomi Hideyoshi became a ruler of Japan, but Hideyoshi, who had few family members, valued his mother's sisters and cousins as his vassals.

Eishoin, one of Omandokoro's younger sisters, married Masashige Koide, a vassal of the Oda family. Hidemasa Koide was born between Eishoin and Masashige Koide. Hidemasa Koide served as a vassal of Hideyoshi Toyotomi from an early age, and later became one of Hideyoshi's son, Hideyori Toyotomi. He later became the founder of the Izushi clan, and the Koide family ruled Izushi until the middle of the Edo period.
Daionin married Shigenori Aoki, and Kazunori Aoki was born to her. As a member of the Toyotomi family, Kazunori Aoki ruled the castle castle in northern Echizen Province and supported the Toyotomi family.

Shounin married Masanobu Fukushima, who ran a coke shop. Masanori Fukushima was born between the two. Masanobu Fukushima served Toyotomi Hideyoshi as he rose through the ranks, especially his son Masanori Fukushima, who was called by his childhood name ``Oichi'' or ``Ichimatsu'' and worked hard as Hideyoshi's page. He later served in the Battle of Shizugatake and was counted as one of the ``Seven Spears of Shizugatake''. In the Battle of Sekigahara, he fought bravely as the main force of Tokugawa Ieyasu's eastern army.

Finally, Omandokoro's cousin Seirinin married Kato Kiyotada, a swordsmith. Kiyomasa Kato was born between these two. However, Kato Kiyotada died when Kiyomasa was 3 years old. After many twists and turns, my mother and Kiyomasa turned to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was called by his childhood name ``Otora'' and became Hideyoshi's page name. He worked so hard that his name was included as one of the ``Seven Spears of Shizugatake''. He later became a daimyo of Higo Province (present-day Kumamoto Prefecture) and worked hard to ensure the survival of the Toyotomi family after the Battle of Sekigahara.
In this way, Omandokoro's sisters and cousins flourished as the core family of the Toyotomi family.

Omandokoro and his eldest son Hideyoshi

Omandokoro married Yaemon Kinoshita, an ashigaru (or hired soldier) of the Oda family. Between the two of us
Their eldest daughter, Nisshuin (her name was Tomo, or Tomo), and her eldest son, Hideyoshi, were born. One theory holds that his second son, Hidenaga Hashiba, and second daughter, Princess Asahi, were also the children of Yaemon Kinoshita.
However, after Kinoshita Yaemon died on January 2, 1543, Omandokoro remarried Takeami, a tea priest who had served Oda Nobuhide (Oda Nobunaga's father).

Hideyoshi, the eldest son, and his stepfather, Takeami, did not get along well, and Hideyoshi ran away from home. Hideyoshi, who called himself Tokichiro Kinoshita, was a subordinate of the Iio clan, a vassal of the Imagawa family that ruled the Tokai region, and was the lord of Todaji Castle in Todaji-sho, Nagakami District, Totomi Province (present-day Todaji-cho, Minami-ku, Hamamatsu City). Serve the rope. Hideyoshi served Matsushita Yukitsuna as a vassal of the Imagawa family, and had some regard for Yukitsuna (later, Matsushita Yukitsuna became a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi), but after a while he quit the Matsushita family. I did.
After leaving the Matsushita family, Hideyoshi spent his days working as a peddler, selling needles, and as a bandit in the Hachisuka Party of Mino Province.

Around 1554, he served Nobunaga Oda as a koja (lower than ashigaru and responsible for miscellaneous tasks in a samurai's house). He took the lead in taking on the duties of construction magistrate and kitchen magistrate at Kiyosu Castle, achieving great results, and gradually rose to prominence among the Oda family, rising from foot soldiers to military commanders.

While Hideyoshi was a member of the Oda family, Omandokoro spent time with Takeami. However, when Takeami passed away, he turned to Hideyoshi, the lord of Nagahama Castle (a castle located in present-day Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture).
Omandokoro will be spending time with Toyotomi Hideyoshi's family.

Omandokoro and his second son Hidenaga Hashiba

Omandokoro's eldest son, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, rose through the ranks from Oda Nobunaga's accessories and became one of the leading military commanders in the Oda family. The person who supported Hideyoshi was Omandokoro's second son, Hidenaga Hashiba (Hidenaga Toyotomi).

Hidenaga Hashiba was born in 1540 as the son of Takeami (some say he was also the son of Yaemon Kinoshita, the same as Hideyoshi). Around the time of the Oda clan's battle with the Mino-Saito clan, he began to follow his older brother Hideyoshi, and seems to have often served as a retainer at the castle.
Around 1575, his surname changed from Kinoshita to Hashiba, and he called himself Hashiba Koichiro.

In 1577, he followed Hideyoshi and participated in the capture of Harima Province (present-day Hyogo Prefecture). In 1582, the Honnoji Incident occurred and Oda Nobunaga was killed. Hideyoshi was fighting against the Mori family in the Chugoku region, but he moved on to take down Akechi Mitsuhide, who had defeated his master Oda Nobunaga. Hidenaga also participated in the Battle of Yamazaki in accordance with ``China's Great Return'' and was on the defense of Mt. Tennozan.
In this way, Toyotomi Hideyoshi became an independent daimyo from a military commander of the Oda clan, and Hidenaga continued to support his older brother.

In 1585, he participated in the Kishu conquest and took over 640,000 koku of land in Kii/Izumi (present-day Wakayama prefecture, southern Osaka prefecture). At this time, Hidenaga built Wakayama Castle, which became his residence. Furthermore, in this year, he went on an expedition to Shikoku as the commander-in-chief and defeated the Nagasokabe family. As a reward from his older brother Hideyoshi, Hidenaga was given Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture) and was given an additional 1 million territories.

Around this time, Omandokoro often visited Hidenaga, who lived at Yamatokoriyama Castle, and visited Mt. Koya and Kasuga Shrine. Furthermore, it is said that when he became unwell due to illness, he recovered through prayers at Kofukuji Temple. In this way, Hidenaga Hashiba, who supported his older brother Hideyoshi in political and military matters, was appointed to the rank of Junior Second Rank, Dainagon, and came to be called Yamato Dainagon.

Omandokoro and his second daughter Asahime

Supported by his younger brother Hidenaga Hashiba, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ran up the ladder to become a ruler.
However, Tokugawa Ieyasu stood in his way. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ruled Mikawa Province (present-day eastern Aichi Prefecture), expanded his territory from Tokaido to Shinshu as an ally of Oda Nobunaga. Toyotomi Hideyoshi often demanded that he go to Kyoto and pay homage to his subjects, but Tokugawa Ieyasu would not comply. It is said that this was because they thought that Ieyasu might go to Kyoto and be killed there.

Therefore, Hideyoshi devised a plan to marry his younger sister, Princess Asahi, to Ieyasu to establish a relationship by marriage and to show that he had no malicious intentions.
Princess Asahi was born in 1543 to Omandokoro and Takeami (or her father was not Takeami, but Kinoshita Yaemon, the same as Hideyoshi). It is said that she married a farmer in Owari, and later her husband was appointed by Hideyoshi and took the name Saji Hyuga no kami. Hideyoshi divorced Princess Asahi and married her to Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Tokugawa family agreed, and in April 1586, Princess Asahi left Osaka Castle and entered Jurakudai, where she was accompanied by a bride procession of over 150 people, including Asano Nagamasa, Tomita Tomonobu, Tsuda Shirozaemon, and Takigawa Masushige. headed for Sunpu. Princess Asahi was well received by the Tokugawa family, and a mansion was built there, which came to be called Suruga Gozen.

In this way, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu became brothers, although they were brothers. However, Ieyasu still did not go to Kyoto. Frustrated, Hideyoshi sent his mother, Omandokoro, to Sunpu to visit Princess Asahi in September of the same year, effectively making her a hostage. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother, Omandokoro, and his sister, Princess Asahi, were sent as hostages, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was also forced to go to Kyoto. In this way, Tokugawa Ieyasu became a vassal of the Toyotomi family. It is said that Omandokoro's stay in Sunpu was one month, and during this time Honda Shigetsugu, who was in charge of guarding him, made sure to surround Omandokoro and Asahihime's mansion so that he could retaliate at any time if something happened to Tokugawa Ieyasu who had come to Kyoto. It is said that he piled up bushes and prepared to set them on fire.

Omandokoro and his eldest daughter Tomo

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who took Tokugawa Ieyasu under his control, finally unified the country. The core of Toyotomi's government was run by Omandokoro's younger sisters, children of relatives, or vassals whom Hideyoshi himself recognized.
However, it was the children of Omandokoro's eldest daughter Satoshi (also known as Nisshuuni) that brought out the best in him even more.